"The Iron Emperor saw your Administration's most recent report."
"...and? What does he want, Dieselborn? I have no interest in him, or you."
"He believes you may have perhaps made your last classification on that report...a bit too hastily."
"I...what? Excuse me? Let me refresh myself here...ah, yes. That one...I grant you, it was an odd case..."
"Then-"
"-But, i'm afraid the classification is accurate. We successfully identified at least one divinely empowered follower, which as far as we're concerned here at the FFA is proof enough of Grade I."
"He won't be pleased about this."
"Hah! And, so what? If your esteemed lord recalls, our deal was not contingent upon his opinions! Neither are fables or tales in general, now that I think about it...funny how that works, isn't it? If you ask me, a good measure of their worth is how much men like him seek to quell them...regardless, remind your lord what happened the last time he shut down one of our reports, hmm? That's a good pup. Now go, I have a dozen more reports to do and somehow they're all a great deal more appealing than being in a room with a dullard like you." — Conversation between a Senior
Mythmaker at the Fables and Folklore Administration in
The Iron Empire's Capital of Lumisterra
What exactly is a god?
On Numiastra, what exactly qualifies as a deity has long been subject to some debate over the eons since The Skyfall Calamity - however, as it has been decreed by
The Iron Empire's
Institute of Mythmaker Fables(Better known by its official designation as "
The F.F.A", or Fables and Folklore Administration(though it is unofficially referred to as "
Far Far Away") by many across the Iron Empire), Deities are widely broken down into three broad categories as a measure of their relative divinity, overall power level, and the reach and power of their influence - among a handful of other various factors.
Prime Deities
A classification that has no known examples within or around the lands of Numiastra, Prime Deities are instead a classification of deity that was formalized by the FFA to give
The Iron Empire and others across Numiastra an easy way to refer to deities from across the rest of the planet of Ea - namely, the
Major Gods whose presence is known to be chokingly intense outside the lands of Numiastra. These gods exist in a realm largely beyond mortal understanding, and are poorly understood in turn by much of Numiastra due to both the rarity with which they or their followers enter into the lands of Numiastra and the extreme prejudice with which their followers are often treated when they arrive on Numiastra.
These gods are best defined by their overwhelming power such that they have shed their corporeal form and entered into a realm so powerful that they cannot walk the material realm without rending its very atoms asunder in their truest form - better described as "Living Cosmic Concepts", these deities are utterly mighty and totally foreign to the people of Numiastra, though not all seem to be hostile and can instead in fact be quite friendly on occasion(though the inverse is just as true).
True Gods
A rare breed in the dying lands of Numiastra, True Gods are the most powerful and most widespread of all the Divinities that exist in and around the lands of Numiastra - most obviously and most well-known examples of True Gods are the likes of
Tavross, The Iron Emperor and
Kali, The Broodqueen. These deities are best categorized by their complete and true divinity and, perhaps most importantly,
a tangible physical form - though just as important to a True Gods nature is their lack of dependence on mortal faith or the telling of their myths and tales; two critical aspects that combine to make True Gods genuine, actual deities the likes of which Numiastra is only known to have two examples of.
However, one would be mistaken if they assumed True Gods were invincible - indeed, they are far
from invincible, as evidenced by the death of
Tavross, The Iron Emperor during the Age of Heresy and the betrayal of Ser Percival who would go on to slay the diesel god atop Lumisterra. Yet, they are far from helpless - so unfathomably mighty that common parlance of the FFA holds that only a True God or comparably powerful entity could hope to slay another of their kind; without such a being, no amount of
numbers will help defeat or overwhelm them.
Tales and Fables
The class of deity most common across the lands of Numiastra, Tales and Fables are the bread and butter of Numiastran Gods and are by far the most numerous and widely known from the lowliest peasant to the highest noble. The key facets of what makes a Tale or a Fable a "divinity" lay in the unique nature of how they come to possess power - as they are divines that accumulate power the more a given tale, myth, or fable passes among a population, their power thus is largely proportional to the size of the area and the number of people they have passed through and become known throughout; the more a given fable is taken into the hearts and souls of a people and the more it is in turn passed on through word of mouth from person to person, the more it accumulates from that very belief and enjoyment that comes from the act of hearing and passing it along, no matter how small.
Eventually, a given tale or fable, if enough people spread it across a given area or believe in it fervently enough, it will grow into a true Divinity and be classified accordingly. Of note, simply being
spread is not enough to assure a Tale, Myth, or Fable's eventual ascension into divinity - just as important if not
more so to such a process is the
passion and
faith and
energy that those who hear it and pass it along ascribe to it, or feel for it; A simple children's fable used to teach lessons to children yet fails to evoke any significant emotions, passion, or faith is unlikely to ever become a true divine Fable no matter how far it spreads. Inversely, the legend of a heroic being who captured the hearts and minds of a comparatively small population yet whose story passes into legend and inspires great fervor and passion in all who hear it is on a sure track to become a Divine Fable.
The most critical aspects of a divine Fable or Tale is their formless nature - a thing given life by the passion and faith of those who hear it and pass it along to others. Lacking a physical body or will of their own outside of extremely rare and extremely unique circumstances, Fables and Tales are largely at the whims of the people who gave rise to them - meaning that a Divine Tale or Fable is quick to die out if it stops being told and retold on the lips of the land's people, no matter how hard they believe in it. Such then, one may reasonably guess, is why the likes of the
Mythmakers are so critically important to the people of Numiastra - for it is they who seek out these tales and collect them and spread them, who hear them and remember them long after all others have forgotten and whisper them to those in need of the lessons they teach that they may grow, mutate, and take on new life of their own in whatever ways the people desire. Without them, most Tales and Fables of the modern day simply would not exist.
Finally, as it is they who spread them, they who make them possible, and they who remember them when all others have forgotten, it is the
Mythmakers(And more accurately, the Fables and Folklore Administration of The Iron Empire) who officially classifies new fables, re-classifies existing ones as they grow or shrink in power or influence, and they who declare a Fable forgotten and defunct.
*
While not neccesarily important information here, it is mildly important to note that the FFA, while their headquarters are located within The Iron Empire's capital city of Lumisterra, is not explicity under the country's purview - instead, like all Mythmakers, it exists as a largely Extralegal Entity that has historically submitted itself voluntarily to Ironite Law and cooperated with the authority of Tavross under the conditions that they police themselves and be exempted from a good number of The Iron Empire's stricter laws, among other concessions such as being granted the land for their headquarters and so on.
Fable Classifications
As mentioned above, Divine Fables are denoted by the potency of the emotions they invoke in those who hear them and in the size of the region and population they are known throughout - these classifications are listed below alongside the definitions of each as dictated by the Fables and Folklore Administration(FFA, for short).
*
For the sake of the below definitions, "Aspect" refers to a single part of a deity's portfolio - I.E, "Industry" being one "Aspect" of the portfolio of Tavross, The Iron Emperor. Most True Gods have between five to six, and often have one "Tenet" per aspect.
- Grade I Fable: A Grade I Fable is the least powerful of its kind, and one of the most common - such fables are defined by having yet to fully spread throughout their culture or country of origin, remaining as a small or isolated group within that larger place of origin. These Fables are extremely small scale, and are effectively "Newborn Fables" - largely three quarters of all fables do not make it beyond this grade. A good example of this grade of fable is Draelakai Ümoulazar - who originated within the lands of The Iron Empire yet whose story is known and followed by less than 5% of the people within it; namely rockers, rebels, anarchists, and punks who fight against the establishment. Grade I Fables are almost universally limited to one aspect.
- Grade II Fable: A Grade II Fable is a fable of average might, and is decently common - such fables are defined by having completely or mostly spread throughout their culture or country of origin; having permeated the hearts and minds of most all within such an area. These fables are rarer than Grade II fables, as it is somewhat rare for tales and fables to get enough traction to capture so many hearts minds in such a way - though when they appear they are decently powerful in their own right. A good and well-known example of this grade of Fable is that of The Steel-Driving Striker - whose tale has originated within the lands of The Iron Empire and has become a household name for nearly 90% of its population(Whether their opinions on it are good or bad), and has followers that can be found in just about every corner of the Empire but yet remain mostly unheard of beyond the Empire's borders. These types of Fables often have around 2 Aspects.
- Grade III Fable: A Grade III Fable is the most powerful of its kind, and by far the rarest - such fables are not only Pan-Cultural and Pan-Continental, having long since completely eclipsed their country or culture of origin and crossed all ethnic and and cultural boundaries, but they are very nearly on par with a True God in terms of influence, divine power, and the size and scope of its followerbase. Such fables often have three or more Aspects. An obvious example of this grade of fable are those of the Watchers of Van'tiri - which have long since become household names in all countries and ethnic groups of Numiastra despite originally being created by a man native to The Iron Empire.
Idols
The smallest grade of divinity that has, at several points throughout its history, been classified both as an entirely unique classification of deity and a variant of True God, Idols are defined in the modern day by the FFA as "A Physical Entity that has accumulated enough power to garner followers and grant power to the faithful, yet whose activities are smaller in scope and more subtle than True Gods who have no need to hide". To many, the difference is sophistry best left for scholars - leaving Idols to be a relatively unknown and poorly-studied grade of Divinity that many on Numiastra see as "The Gods of Cults and Covens" more than anything else.
And from what has been discovered, this seems to be somewhat accurate - Idols are characterized by their preference of making more personal deals with their followers, handing out rather unique powers rather than just Divine Magic that can be taken away somewhat easier, and working in more underground or subtle ways than True Gods such as
Tavross, The Iron Emperor or
Kali, The Broodqueen.
The Mechanics of Faith
The below mechanical descriptions are meant for the Pathfinder 1e system, and are subject to change at my discretion.
For those whose faith revolves around Tales and Fables, the mechanics of their classes work slightly differently - divine classes may treat all the different Fables they worship's favored weapons as such for any abilities that work off favored weapons.
Additionally, divine classes that receive domains can choose from the domains of all fables and tales that they worship. However, they must also abide by ALL the tenets for all fables and tales they worship.
For alignment purposes, the alignment of divine classes that worship multiple Fables and Tales is left up to that player's discretion - but should ideally represent a "middle ground" of all their accumulated faiths or the alignment of the tale or fable they consider their "main faith". Speak to GM before finalizing alignment for this purpose.
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